A CENTURY OF CORONA, 1960 -1968

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B00803R000100080033-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 13, 2004
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: December 11, 1968
• Content Type: SPEECH

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A CENTURY OF CORONA
1960 - 1968
11 December 1968
t?I wish to thank you on behalf of all of those
associated with the CORONA Program for your interest and
good wishes on completion of the One Hundredth CORONA
Mission; I also wish to express my appreciation for the
outstanding support which the CIA has given to this pro-
gram. The success we have achieved is due in no small
measure to this support."
This message from Dr. Flax was delivered in Febru-
ary 1968 to Mr. Helms. It is significant in that it
addresses a very unique satellite reconnaissance program,
a program which is certainly the workhorse of satellite
reconnaissance programs. This program was the first to
recover objects from orbit; the first to recover intelli-
gence information from orbit; the first, and to date only,
U.S. satellite-borne, panoramic, stereoscopic, reconnais-
sance system; the first to seek and find the Soviet ICBM
deployment; the first to employ longer mission life and
multiple reentry vehicles on one mission; and the first,
and to date only, satellite reconnaissance program to
successfully complete more than 100 missions. Of great
significance, moreover, are the contributions from a tech-
nical and intelligence standpoint in challenging the
unknown by establishing and advancing the "state-of-the-
art" in photographic reconnaissance from orbiting satel-
lites.
The Formative Years
When the U-2 Program first got under way, it was
anticipated that in one to one and one-half years the
Soviets would be able to counter with a surface-to-air
missile. It was anticipated, however, that within this
period SAMOS would take over the photo reconnaissance
collection. However, because of SAMOS development dif-
ficulties, the White House approved the development of a
satellite-borne camera and recoverable capsule, the
beginning of the CORONA reconnaissance program in
April 1958.
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The CORONA Program was carried out under the
authority of CIA and the Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA) with support of the Air Force. Booster
proposal work in early feasibility investigations had
been performed earlier as part of Air Force Weapons System
117L (Sentry). The CIA was charged with the development
of the reconnaissance equipment, security, cover, covert
procurement, and collection requirements. In behalf of
ARPA, the Air Force contracted for and directed the de-
tailed procurements on the overt side. These included
the booster, the AGENA 2nd stage, control networks, launch
facilities, and the basic recovery vehicle development.
In February 1959, an inert THOR-AGENA was launched,
followed by two non-camera-bearing test vehicles which did
not orbit. These were followed by a series of operational
failures of the booster or recovery vehicle. In November
1959, the ARPA responsibility was transferred to the Air
Force under the direction of the Secretary of Defense. A
recovery system diagnostic program was instituted, culmi-
nating in August 1960 with the first successful recovery
from orbit. Later that month, a camera system was flown,
and film was recovered.
The Growth Period
The original CORONA Program was extended through a
series of evolutionary system modifications. The C and C'
Systems flew from 1960 through 1961. The C ... was first
flown in August 1961. The development of a dual camera
stereo configuration, using C ''I cameras, known as C/MURAL
was initiated late in 1961. The first C/MURAL System was
flown in February 1962. With that flight the CORONA Pro-
gram had advanced from a single panoramic camera system,
having a design goal for ground resolution of 20-25 feet,
to a twin camera panoramic system which produced stereo
at essentially the same ground resolution. Within a year,
development of a new J System was accomplished. The pri-
mary difference between C/MURAL and the J Systems con-
sisted of the addition of a second recovery vehicle. The
ground resolution of the CORONA system improved in an evo-
lutionary manner from the 20-25 feet design goal for the
C''' to approximately 7-10 feet for the J-1 (KH-4A) system.
Operational control of the CORONA received consid-
erable attention from its inception. Control concepts,
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developed for CORONA, led the way for more sophisticated
and complex control systems within and outside the program.
Control software for creating the camera's command tapes
evolved from a simple form into one having the flexibility
to choose camera operations of varying lengths over any
segment of the earth's surface. This flexibility, achieved
by a nine channel pre-programmed command system, has been
employed since September 1966. It has provided to the
operators the ability of applying cloud cover forecasts,
thereby increasing the return of cloud free photography.
Auxiliary software has been created for improved manage-
ment of the CORONA Program. The program provides 25X1
the National Photo Interpretation Center with advanced
listings of target locations resulting from the CORONA
coverage so that target collateral and historical infor-
mation can be pre-assembled for the photo interpreter.
The II program provides the Satellite Operations
Center with an evaluation of candidate orbits examined
against specific mission requirements and aids in the
selection of the orbit to be flown on a specific mission.
Maturity
In September 1967, the first improved CORONA J-3
(KH-4B) was launched. This system has achieved the best
CORONA resolution, estimated at about 7 feet, and is
currently being operated for planned orbital lifetimes
of 18-20 days. In addition to the conduct of the normal
CORONA intelligence missions, the first five flights of
the J-3 system conducted a series of significant experi-
ments. These experiments included tests of adjustable
exposure and filter devices and special filters which
provide a significant increase in camera flexibility.
This flexibility has allowed 'testing of the Bi-Color
technique, faster films, special color films, including
Ektachrome,
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Adjustments nave been made to this system to employ
untra-thin base (UTB) film.
A Digital Shift Register Command System has been
successfully developed and will be flown for the first
time on CR-6, now scheduled for February 1969. This
system will allow greater latitude in the selection of
camera on-off times. A modification to the orbital timer
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has been completed that allows for a maximum mission
control of 20 days on orbit. This timer was implemented
commencing with the September 1968 CORONA mission. A new
software program, the CORONA Targeting Program (CTP), has
been designed and is currently undergoing operational
tests and evaluation. This software, in conjunction with
the Shift Register, will achieve more efficient and
effective operation of the CORONA system by providing
orbit-by-orbit camera operation selections based on cur-
rent weather forecasts.
In summary, during an eight year period CORONA has
evolved from a low-resolution single camera system having
one-day orbital mission capability to a medium resolution
stereo panoramic camera system employing two "bucket" re-
turn of the information, and operating on-orbit for a
period of approximately 18-20 days.
Contribution to Higher Resolution Systems
By March 1964, the CORONA Program had photographed
twenty-three of the twenty-five Soviet ICBM bases; by
June 1964, it had photographed all of the existing Soviet
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Contributions to National Strategic Intelligence
"No new ICBM complexes have been established in the
USSR during the past year. This judgment is based on a
recent examination of KH-4 photography dating from June
1967 and covering 90 percent of the main Soviet rail
network--more than 70 percent since the start of 1968.
All known Soviet ICBM complexes are served by rail, and
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a search of the rail network is the basic ingredient in
our confidence that the deployment is confined to the
25 complexes already identified."
The above statement. appears in the. annual intelli-
gence. report entitled Search of the Soviet Rail Network
for ICBM Deployment, June 1967 - May 1968, dated September
1968. This statement encapsulates the ultimate intelli-
gence contribution made by the CORONA Program in the field
of National Strategic Intelligence.
The CORONA Program ability to discover and identify
new Soviet silos is unchallenged by any other means of
intelligence gathering. Figures 1 and 2 were taken from
the USIB COMIREX Collection requirements for High Resolu-
tion Imagery Surveillance by Satellite Reconnaissance of
Targets in the Soviet Bloc and Communist China. They show
only the detection of the most recently deployed Soviet
ICBMs. Similar CORONA accomplishments have resulted in
the discovery and location of the Soviet deployment of
their IRBM and MRBM systems, their total surface-to-air
missile defense network, including the SA-3 and SA-5
systems, the ABM installations, the SAM installations
in North Vietnam, and the Scaleboard surface-to-surface
missile system along the USSR-Chinese Border. CORONA
Finally, CORONA is again being tasked to acquire
coverage of China in a search for the deployment of the
ballistic missiles. When this event occurs, CORONA
will again have played the role of pathfinder for the
Intelligence Community.
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Contribution to the USIB Search Requirements
A summary of statistics regarding CORONA accomplish-
ments appears in the tables attached to this document.
They include the breakdown of the missions flown yearly
and the statistical accomplishments per year. An average
CORONA mission returns photography of about 10,000,000
square nautical miles, which includes, on the average,
3100 cloud free COMIREX target images. Tables 2 and 3
display the CORONA mission performance in acquiring pho-
tography in the conduct of the Semiannual Search Require-
ment. Tables 4 and 5 display CORONA performance in
acquiring photography in the conduct of the Annual Search
Requirement. Table 6 displays CORONA mission performance
in accomplishing Mapping, Charting and Geodetic coverage.
The Future
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When the final CORONA Mission is flown, history
will record the fact that it conquered the initial
technological problems of space reconnaissance, produced
vital national intelligence :information for almost a
decade, gave birth to a more sophisticated broad area
coverage system, and achieved the distinction of being
the program which parted the Soviet and Communist Chi-
nese curtains of secrecy.
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